A collection insured at the value you agree on.

What makes an art appraisal hold up

I ask for appraisals on higher-value pieces, and the clearest public standard for what an art appraisal should contain comes from the IRS. Treasury regulation 26 CFR 1.170A-17 sets it for donated property, and Publication 561 adds detail for art. These are donation rules, not insurance requirements; your policy sets its own. Still, an appraisal built to this standard gives an underwriter, and later an adjuster, something they can test.

• Prepared under USPAP. The regulation points to the substance and principles of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, as developed by the Appraisal Standards Board of the Appraisal Foundation.
• By a qualified appraiser. That means professional or college-level coursework in valuing that type of property plus at least two years of experience valuing it, or a recognized appraiser designation for that type. The report itself states the appraiser's education and experience.
• With the core facts. A description detailed enough that someone unfamiliar with the type of property could match it to the piece, its physical condition, the valuation effective date, the fair market value and the method used. Publication 561 gives the sales comparison, cost or income approach as examples.
• With the art details. Publication 561 lists the artist, maker or originating culture, title, medium and support, date of creation, dimensions, signature information and condition; for a photograph, print, sculpture or other work available in multiples, the edition number and total number made in the edition; and a professional quality digital color image.

Publication 561 also says physical condition and extent of restoration are both relevant to value, asks for reasonable due diligence on authenticity, such as catalogue raisonné citations or letters from a recognized expert, and warns that an auction price may have come from a rigged sale. If the same piece may later be donated, the timing rules matter: a donation appraisal must be signed and dated no earlier than 60 days before the gift.

Earthquake, fire and water: California prep

In 2018 NEMO reported that the Getty, with 30 years of experience in earthquake-safe installation, had teamed up with the Greek government and the National Technical University of Athens to develop its isolator mounts and seismic mitigation bases. At home the first steps are simpler. The Earthquake Country Alliance, whose preparedness site carries FEMA and Cal OES logos, tells households to hang mirrors and pictures on closed hooks and to keep small objects from falling with museum putty or wax. For sculpture, ceramics and glass on open shelves, that putty is the low-cost first move; ask a conservator before using it on a fragile or porous surface.

If water reaches the collection, from a broken pipe, a flood or firefighting, FEMA's Save Your Family Treasures guidance is a sound first-hours checklist. It comes from the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, co-sponsored by FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution, a partnership of more than 60 national service organizations and federal agencies that has given this kind of guidance since 1995:

• Take paintings and prints out of their frames.
• Air-dry gently, indoors if you can. Hair dryers, irons, ovens and prolonged sunlight do irreversible damage.
• Freeze photos, papers, books and textiles if you can't get them dry within 48 hours.
• Handle with great caution; heirlooms can be especially fragile when wet. Focus on what matters most to you.

Photograph everything before you move it and send me the photos with your schedule. The American Institute for Conservation's Find a Conservator tool lists members, by their choice, who were reviewed by peers on training, knowledge and experience, searchable by services like examination and documentation. The house itself is a separate decision; see earthquake insurance in California.

Official sources

• 26 CFR 1.170A-17, Qualified appraisal and qualified appraiser (Cornell LII)
• IRS Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property
• ICOM, Object ID standard
• INTERPOL, Object ID
• Earthquake Country Alliance, Step 1: Secure your space
• NEMO, International research project aims at protecting art from earthquakes
• FEMA, Save Your Family Treasures
• American Institute for Conservation, Find a Conservator
• 20 U.S.C. 972, Items eligible for indemnity agreements (Cornell LII)